4 hot

thesundaytimes July 26, 2009

Twin
Horse passion
At an age when many teenagers like to
shop and chill out at Orchard Road in their

play
free time, the 18-year-old Yang twins head
to the stables to tend to their four-footed
pal, a chestnut mare called Liberty.
“I hardly have a social life, but I need to
care for my horse,” says Huiyu, who is pur-
suing an International Baccalaureate at An-
glo-Chinese School (Independent).
She shares the 13-year-old horse with
her sister, Huichun, a second-year student
at Innova Junior College.
The sisters have worked out a schedule
that allows them three days of riding each
Singaporeans are owning just the two of us in the dark, and it’s so
and a day of rest for their horse.
quiet and peaceful early in the morning,”
horses, and many of she says. But they love to visit Liberty even
when it is not their day to ride it.
these owners are women Despite being at the stables every day,
Almost every day after school, they trot
the couple – who have no children – have off from Dover and Woodlands to the
separate personal lessons but make it a horse’s stable at the Bukit Timah Saddle
Yusuf Abdol Hamid
point to ride together on the long grassy Club, off Eng Neo Avenue, and spend two
orget hanging out at malls or track- trails at least once a week.

F
to three hours there.
ing down the latest food fad – The Saddle Club offers its 240 members The twins were introduced to equestri-
some Singapore girls and women facilities such as paddocks and trails for anism at 12 when their mother,
have a hobby that is hot to trot: their horses to graze and roam, and arenas 54-year-old housewife Yang Cheow
Ching, asked them to choose between
horsing around with their own for practising showjumping or “dressage”,
a French term which means training the learning tennis and horse-riding.
equines. “After finding the Saddle Club such a
A check with horse clubs here shows horse. beautiful place, we decided to give
that Singaporeans are swelling the ranks of Also located at Bukit Timah is Horse
City, a public riding centre which houses horse-riding a try,” says Huiyu.
horse owners, with the majority of them The sisters’ proficiency improved to a
being females. around 150 horses, mostly used by the
stage where they begged their parents to
Around 30 to 40 per cent of leisure school for lessons. buy them a horse of their own. Their fa-
horse owners at the Bukit Timah Saddle According to Mrs Mani Shanker, direc- ther, Dr Yang Ching Yu, 53, is a colorectal
Club are Singaporean, and this number is tor of Horse City, three out of the five pri- surgeon at Raffles Hospital.
almost entirely made up of vately owned horses in its stables belong to Their persistence, plus the reassurance
female professionals, says Singaporeans, who are al- that it would not affect their grades, led to
its honorary secretary, Ms “Horses play a big so all female. the purchase of Liberty last year. The
Mel Burr. Over at the Singapore horse, a breed known as a Hanoverian
The club, established in
role in our marriage Polo Club, which was warmblood, was transported here from
1951, says that 70 out of 100 because we spend a founded in 1881 and has Germany, and cost about $100,000.
1,200 members, 93 of the The chestnut horse has a personality
horses at its stables are lot of time together that mirrors their own, the twins claim.
privately owned. 152 horses in the club
Overall, horse-riding
doing horse-related stables are privately Huichun says with a laugh: “Liberty
can be spoilt at times, just like us. For in-
clubs here have 160 owners activities.” owned.
stance, if it’s eating and you go too close
who own horses for leisure, MS ANGIE TAN, 44, who rides Mr Torrey J. Dorsey,
general manager at the to it, it will get upset and might bite.”
LifeStyle found. Some own together with her horse-loving
husband at least once a week Liberty enjoys dressage competitions,
their equines for leisure, oth- Singapore Polo Club, says and Huiyu says its eyes liven up when it
ers are for competitions Singaporean owners ac- notices the judges in the arena.
such as show-jumping, which are held count for about 55 per Both sisters came in first at the Nation-
throughout the region. cent, and are mostly 35 to 50 years old. al Dressage Championships this year, com-
Horse owner Roshni Selvam, 33, a horse According to him, more women own peting in the Preliminary and Novice cate-
veterinarian, says horse ownership in Singa- horses for general riding, while men mostly gories.
The prize money at such events can
pore is predominantly female because she own the animal for playing polo.
ST PHOTOS: YUSUF ABDOL HAMID

He says: “By nature, riding, which Tending to their horse takes a lot of time and effort, but 18-year-old twins Yang Huichun (left) seem relatively small – theirs was $120 –
thinks “women are more in tune with their and Yang Huiyu are glad to do it. but winning at higher level events can
feelings, which is important in building a involves dressage and show jumping, is increase the value of a steed, say riders.
relationship with the horses”. more elegant, and may suit women, but Despite the time sacrificed to tend to
Other female horse lovers point to how polo is far more aggressive and much fast- available for sale. $700 and $1,500 a month. their horse, Huichun appreciates the life
the hobby is good for human relationships, er.” Otherwise, Ms Burr says that most peo- There is also the cost of belonging to the lessons she has learnt from taking on this
too. Owning a horse, which has a lifespan of ple look to countries such as Australia, Den- clubs. A Polo Club membership, for exam- “600kg responsibility”.
A mutual love for horses has strength- up to 20 years, is not for the commit- mark and Germany because of their long ple, costs about $10,000 to $11,000 on the “It has become much more than a
ened the marriage of housewife Angie Tan ment-phobic. history in breeding and training horses. secondary market. Horse City does not friend to me because it has taught me re-
and her 46-year-old German husband of 16 “Horses enjoy a relationship with their Transporting the animals to Singapore can charge a membership fee. sponsibility and how to grow up,” says
owners, and the average owner at our club cost about $10,000. But high costs are not keeping keen Huichun.
years. The daily routine involved in the
Ms Tan, 44, began riding six years ago. comes at least once a day to spend time Like humans, horses have passports as horse lovers away.
horse’s upkeep, such as cleaning it and its
She and her husband, a managing director with them,” says Ms Burr from the Saddle well. As Ms Tan, of the horse-loving husband equipment, has exposed them to hard
of a machinery company, bought them- Club. According to Mr Dorsey, horses pur- and wife team, points out: “Horses play a work and dirt, which they gladly under-
selves a horse each from Germany three Nor is it for those without deep pockets. chased abroad do not need to be registered big role in our marriage because we spend a take just to see it look happy.
years ago. The costs of buying and upkeeping but owners keep a “horse passport” for iden- lot of time together doing horse-related Indeed, as the sisters take turns to lov-
She visits her chestnut mare, 10-year-old these large animals can range from a nomi- tification and vaccination records. activities. A lot of couples in Singapore ingly nuzzle the horse’s face, it is easy to
Symphony, every morning before dawn nal amount for retired racehorses to mil- Once purchased, the basic requirements don’t share the same interests and end up see why they intend to keep Liberty for
with her husband, who tends to his lions of dollars for high-pedigree breeds. doing different things.” good.
include a livery stable for the horse to stay
Says Huiyu: “It’s my first horse and I
eight-year-old dark brown horse, Vesuv. Prospective owners usually check with in, with a groom to clean and feed it daily. have such a strong bond with it that I
“Mentally, we’re at peace because it’s the clubs first for a listing of local horses Stables here offer livery charges between yhamid@sph.com.sg can’t imagine ever selling it.”

Equine stress-relief
Lawyer Soh Wei Chi visits her three horses
at the stables every day before dawn.
The dedicated equine enthusiast spends
two to three hours with them before head-
ing off to work.
Her morning routine with the horses in-
cludes grooming, taking them out for
walks and to graze, checking their hooves
and washing them.
Ms Soh, 33, began riding seriously about
five years ago and owns two Danish warm-
bloods, and shares a thoroughbred former
racehorse with a friend.
She travelled to Denmark with a trainer
to personally select the two warmbloods,
Zafran, eight, and Mirabel, 12.
“Owning a horse is really the best feel- Oskar may tower above Dr Roshni Selvam, but his gentle nature won her heart over.
ing in the world when you start communi-

Oskar’s like a boyfriend

cating with them,” she says. She declines to
say how much the horses cost, but said
they were in the range of $15,000 to
$200,000.
She enjoys the support of her husband,
also a lawyer, but relies on him to rein in
her obsession with horses.
“I used to pop by at about 9pm as well,
just to check on them and give them some
hay, but my husband reminded me to
spend more time with my family,” she says
with a laugh. Her husband declined to be
named. The couple have no children.
At home, her two dogs were initially sus-
picious of the distinctive horse scent that
she brought home from the stables and
would sniff at her inquisitively.
“They would really check out my breech-
es and boots, but now, they’re used to it,”
she says.
She has been getting serious about her
dressage training and began competing
this year, taking part in the National Dres-
sage Championship.
Apart from riding, she loves the thera-
peutic effect that horses have on her.
She says: “If I’m stressed at work or both-
ered by something, I spend time with
them, and by the time I leave, those feel-
ings are all gone.”
After having her leg broken when an in-
jured horse kicked her, and suffering the
emotional trauma of euthanising sick
equines, horse veterinarian Roshni Selvam
was beginning to lose her passion for the
animals.
All that changed a month ago when she
bought 13-year-old Oskar, a huge Danish
warmblood, from his previous owner who
had broken his leg in a ski-accident and
was no longer able to ride. She declined to
reveal how much she paid for the horse.
“That has really changed my life, be-
cause I was starting to see horses in really
negative circumstances but Oskar has giv-
en me a lot of peace,” said Dr Roshni, 33.
She has been a member of Bukit Timah
Saddle Club since she was nine years old
and was introduced to horse-riding during
a trip to India in her childhood.
Oskar, who has been at the saddle club
for five years, was already familiar to Dr
Roshni in her capacity as a vet, and she
once operated on it for a laceration to a
hind leg.
After spending time with her horses, Ms Soh Wei Chi can feel her stress melting away. “It was a wonderful patient and was
very brave in taking the injections and
stitches,” she recalls.
The experience remained in her memo-
ry and she could not pass up on the chance
to own it when the opportunity arose.
In her late teens, she used to compete in
the sport of showjumping, and even repre-
sented Singapore. Oskar, she hopes, will
have the potential to revive her jumping ca-
reer.
She spends around $1,600 on the horse
monthly, which includes livery fees and ex-
tras such as hay and joint supplements.
The pair seem to have bonded well in a
short time, with Dr Roshni visiting the
horse once or twice a day to go for a ride,
feed it carrots, or what she calls “tucking it
into bed” in its stable at the end of the day.
At a towering 17 hands high (horses are
measured in hands to the top point of their
shoulder), or about 1.7m tall, Oskar may
seem a formidable creature to own.
But for Dr Roshni, who is single, it is a
gentle giant who has become a close com-
panion.
She says: “Oskar’s like my boyfriend,
my son and my family.”